If you count yourself amongst the people who called for Indiana Fever head coach Christie Sides to free Celeste Taylor, Monday’s news was probably not what you wanted to hear. The team announced that they had waived the No. 15 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Considering the team’s defensive struggles, a primetime perimeter stopper like Taylor should have gotten more minutes, if only to see if the hype surrounding her defensive abilities would translate to the pros. Well, after five games and a total of 16 minutes, she’s gone, with her memorable moments taking place off the court, like when she cried immediately after being selected or when her teammates sang “Happy Birthday” to her.
Seeing the camaraderie in the latter video is so awesome and heartwarming, making you forget that pro ball is a business. The cut was a cold reminder of that. As pointed out by Sides:
That was just a really hard decision. Celeste did everything we asked, she’s a great teammate, she talked the most as a rookie. She felt really comfortable communicating on the court. It was just really hard to let her go, it was a business decision. One of the hardest thing we have to do in this business.
In 2023, 15 of the 36 players…
